Tag: Scams

Right after I published a post on how one canon how one can avoid Facebook scams, I noticed a new scam message on my Facebook news feed. The scam titled – “OMG!! Watch what happened to his ex girlfriend when she reveals a secret” with an awful message that states This girl couldn’t walk for weeks after this… Genious revenge!”. The scam has occurred earlier and has spread under several different messages.

The scam is spreading with messages like these among others:

She is due to go to the hospital after this, could not walk properly for days.

[Video] OMG! See what happened to his Ex Girlfriend!

LOL. She could not walk straight for days!

Clicking on the video link will open a page in a new tab in your browser where you will be asked to verify that you are over 13 years of age. As you can see from the screenshot, there are two options – “Jaa” and “Peruuta” (Finnish words) which in English mean “Share” and “Cancel” respectively.

Clicking on any of these buttons will like-jack your Facebook account and the message will be posted on your Facebook wall stating that you likethe video causing your friends to also fall for this trap.

You can mark the scam message as inappropriateby clicking the Xmark on the top-right corner of the message. Alternatively, you can report the scam to Facebook Security. Please feel free to share this post with your friends and family so that they are not tricked into clicking on the enticing message.

As a precautionary measure, always check which applications you use and remove unwanted or suspicious ones. If you aren’t sure how to do it, you can always check our guide on removing apps from Facebook.

Yet another type of scam has surfaced on Facebook. A message that is spreading across news feed with the title – “The first 50,000 participants Will Get a Pair of Reebok Shoes Free”. The scam offers you a free pair of Reebok shoes just by attending an event and likinga Facebook page.

The scam message attempts to trick users by asking them to likea Facebook page and stand a chance to win the shoes for free. According to the Facebook page, in order to participate, you have to click on the I’m Attendingbutton, and like We Love Cricket ClubFacebook page. Next, you have to share and invite at least 50 friends to the event. It gives a warning that if you do not complete the steps, the system will not register your details.

You will then have to write Attendingalong with your gender, shoe size, favorite cricket team and email id on its wall page. The scam states that it is based on a first-come, first-served basis. Only the first 50,000 participants stand a chance to win the prize.

The ultimate goal of scammers is to get as many numbers of shares and likes. You’re just being fooled into “liking” the page which will gain you nothing. As soon as you “like” something on Facebook, the link is shared with your friends. They in turn may click on it – just as you did – and then continue spreading this nonsensicality.

Similarly, there are scams that download malicious programs on your computer without your knowledge. These programs may expose your credentials like credit card number and email id. So think twice before you click on any link or share something on Facebook.

And if you were already tricked into a scam like this despite being careful, then worry not. Here are a few things that might help you get rid of them –

Check the security settings on your Facebook account. If you did not authorize apps that you are not aware of, then you should revoke permissions granted to it.

Facebook is not just prone to scam messages, but also to phishing and malware attacks as well. There have been an increasing number of phishing and malware attacks recently. The latest in the series is a phishing attack that sent users a security message from fake Facebook Security Network. The message states that the user had violated the Facebook Terms of Services and requires completing a verification process.

The user is asked to click on a bogus link that leads to a fake account verification page. The message also gives a warning that Facebook account will be blocked, if the user does not verify his/her account in the next 24 hours.

You can notice that the link provided to verify your account is a fake. It has the link – http://shortlink.tk/gh/accountconfirm which redirects again to http://apps_facebook_account_help_center.cast.cc. Facebook does not create any short URLs when it comes to security related issues. Clicking on the link will take you to a page where you will have to go through the verification process.

During the process, you will be asked to enter your name, DOB, credit card number and your password. You will also be asked to enter your email id and password. Well, this not only hacks your Facebook account, but also your email account.

At the end of the process, the details entered are sent to the scammers via email, and the scammer will have complete control over your accounts. It is recommended that you ignore the message and DO NOT click on any inappropriate links. To protect against phishing scams, Facebook users should make sure that the URL they are visiting says “www.facebook.com.” If you find the URL to be different, but having a design similar to Facebook, then it is likely to be spam.

If you have accidently clicked on the link and completed the verification process, I advise you to immediately change the password of all your accounts.

Fans, please beware! Lady Gaga is not dead. There’s a message that is spreading on Facebook that states that Lady Gaga was found dead in her hotel room. Well, this is a scam/fake message that scammers have created in order to drive traffic to their websites and make money.

The scam spreading is titled BREAKING: Lady Gaga Found Dead in Hotel Roomwith a message that states This is the most awful day in US history.

Clicking on the scam link will take you to a page that is designed like the BBC News website. However, this is a fake page, and if you click on the play button, your Facebook account will be hijacked. The scam click-jacks and like-jacks your Facebook account by automatically posting and likingthe scam on your Facebook wall.

Scammers create scams with titles that make users’ curious to click on it. They take advantage of users’ curiosity and post messages with keywords like found dead, wardrobe malfunction, committed suicide, exposing titsand so on. This is done in order to drive traffic to their websites or earn money. Sometimes when users click on such scams, they are asked to complete a set of surveys. Scammers are paid a commission if they get users’ to complete surveys.

It is recommended that you remove this fake message from your Facebook news feed from further allowing it to spread. You can alternatively report this message as scam to Facebook Security.

Avoiding such scams is not easy on Facebook, but you can always follow caution. Clif has written a nice post on How To Avoid Facebook LIfeJacking Scams, it is definitely a worthwhile read to find and spot such scams. As a precautionary measure, always check which applications you use and remove unwanted or suspicious ones. If you aren’t sure how to do it, you can always check our guide on removing apps from Facebook.

The Marika Fruscio spam had also spread as again in June but was subdued until the new spam appeared today. The scam is now spreading through a new update saying:

Italian Model shows Her Tits on T.V

Wow the biggest pair ever seen on Live T.V watch now!

There does exist such a video of the Italian Model breast slip and you can find it on the earlier post Marika Fruscio breasts were exposed on TV. However, the new update is another survey based scam which I becoming more prominent on Facebook these days. We highly urge you to not click on any of the video links.

It is recommended that you DO NOT click on such links or scam messages on Facebook. If you come across this scam message, please delete/remove the scam from your Facebook news feed immediately. Alternately, you can report the scam to Facebook Security.

Facebook credits are virtual currencies which allow users to buy virtual goods on Facebook and their gaming platform. Credits can be purchased from Facebook using real currently. The scam is similar to the Free Cityville coins Scam which is also doing the rounds lately.

We had detailed on how this scam works in the previous post, so you might want to read it to understand how it will affect your account. Currently, the Free Facebook credits scam is spreading using the following text:

WOW! I just got 10000 Facebook Credits for Free! And it worked too! No personal info required! 100% WORKING and totally free. Check it out, i got mine from [redacted]. How to Get 10000 Credits for any game (100% Free) Everyone can get 10000 facebook credits for free here!

Get Free 5000 Facebook Credits totally FREE !

Last call for Facebook Gifts 2000 Credits for any game FREE Check This Site, Which is offering 2000 FREE Credits for Limited Time Period [redacted]. Get Free 2000 Facebook Credits totally FREE !. GET IT NOW!

WOW! I just got 2000 Facebook Credits for Free! And it worked too! No personal info required! 100% WORKING and totally free. Check it out, i got mine from [redacted] :). Get 2000 Free Facebook Credits!. Get Your Free Credits Today!

We request you to not fall for this ploy as you might just end up spreading it to other users.

It is recommended that you DO NOT click on such links or scam messages on Facebook. If you come across this scam message, please delete/remove the scam from your Facebook news feed immediately. Alternately, you can report the scam to Facebook Security.

A new Facebook Scam is spreading on Facebook and has been spreading for the past few days. The scam is about a video and has the text "[Video] OMG This is what happened to his Ex Girlfriend!!!". The scam also occurred earlier and has spread under several different messages.

The scam is spreading with messages like these among others:

[Video] OMG This is what happened to his Ex GirlFriend!!!

She is due to go to the hospital after this, could not walk properly for days.

[Video] OMG! See what happened to his Ex Girlfriend!

LOL. She could not walk straight for days!

Once again, the scam uses the same methods as earlier Facebook video scams and is a survey related scam. When you click on the links, you will be taken to a website which will ask you to accept the term and complete a survey before you can watch the video. While you complete the survey, a similar message will also be posted on your wall.

It is recommended that you DO NOT click on such links or scam messages on Facebook. If you come across this scam message, please delete/remove the scam from your Facebook news feed immediately. Alternately, you can report the scam to Facebook Security.

The Singapore-based online survey and market research company – Speak Asia, which ran advertisements during the IPL matches on TV, is now in big trouble. The company organizes online surveys for various products and companies. Their online survey scheme involves users to subscribe to the scheme by paying Rs. 11,000 ($250 USD) and fill up the survey forms. The subscribers are then paid a commission once they have completed the surveys or refer a friend.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Crime Branch on Friday arrested Tarak Bajpai, COO of Speak Asia, and four other officials for financial irregularities and unearthing a multi-crore scam in which over 13 lakh investors have been cheated.

Bajpai stated, “I am going for a small investigation. The management of the company is there to support all Speak Asians. All departments have given us a clean chit and this too is a small investigation. I have stay order from high court to deal with unforeseen problems.”

Speak Asia is currently being investigated under Section 591 of the Companies Act, which is applicable to companies incorporated outside India and that have established a place of business within the country.

Crime Branch chief Himanshu Roy said, We estimate that until now the company has duped investors of Rs 1,320 crore ($300 million USD). Speak Asia assures its subscribers/investors a return of Rs. 52,000 ($1,181 USD) over an investment of Rs. 11,000. Subscribers are provided with two surveys every week and are paid Rs. 500 ($11.3 USD) upon completing a survey successfully.

Last month, United Overseas Bank, based in Singapore has closed all accounts of Speak Asia.

Our bank account in Singapore has not been frozenâ€¦ we are only moving our company account to another bank. We are approaching and evaluating various other banks in Singapore from where we will soon be able to disburse the payments to all panellists,Speak Asia said in a statement.

There are several other variants in which this scam might be spreading too. The website URLs in these updates might be different and not work because they get blocked pretty quickly.

The scam in question is a survey related scam where users are asked to take part in surveys which will make money for the scammers. In the end, you won’t get to see any videos while your Facebook wall might be updated with a similar status which can be seen by your friends. This can definitely be very embarrassing, so don’t click on those stupid links.

If you come across this scam message, please delete/remove the scam from your Facebook news feed immediately. Alternately, you can report the scam to Facebook Security.

The current scam is similar to earlier survey scams, where users are asked to complete a survey before they can watch the video in question. However, after completing the survey no video is shown and instead the user’s wall page is updated with a similar message that they had originally clicked on thus further spreading the scam.

The new scam is going around with messages like:

OMg,, Towel Pilling Prank Sets this poor girl totally undressed scam.

It is totally shocking as well as somewhat humorous

It is recommended that you DO NOT click on such links or scam messages on Facebook. If you come across this scam message, please delete/remove the scam from your Facebook news feed immediately. Alternately, you can report the scam to Facebook Security.